Display device, user interface, and method for providing menus

• US 7,747,961 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2007
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ishida, Satoshi, Watanabe, Shinji
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Cao (Kevin)
• Application Number:
  US11/670,049
• Publication Number:
  US 20070182721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,244 Days
• Field of Search: 715/700, 715/763, 715/765, 715/851, 715/853, 715/773, 715/786, 715/830, 715/764, 715/761, 345/173, 345/4, 345/581
• US Class Current: 715/773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/361 Reproducing mixed stereoscopic images; Reproducing mixed monoscopic and stereoscopic images, e.g. a stereoscopic image overlay window on a monoscopic image background
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/398 Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof

Abstract

A display device may include a display unit, a touch detecting unit that detects a touch on the display unit, a touch-position detecting unit that detects a touch position on the touch detecting unit and outputs coordinate data of the position, a display control unit that causes the display unit to provide dual view display of an image and display a menu image, a menu generating unit that generates first and second top menus, and a control unit that performs control to display the top menus in different positions on a screen of the display unit, to determine, on the basis of the coordinate data from the touch-position detecting unit, which of the top menus has been touched, to enable operations on one of the top menus that has been touched, and to disable operations on the other one of the top menus.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a display unit that provides dual view display of an image;

a touch detecting unit that detects a touch operation on the display unit;

a touch-position detecting unit that detects a position of a touch on the touch detecting unit and outputs coordinate data of the position;

a display control unit that causes the display unit to provide dual view display of an image and display a menu image;

a menu generating unit that generates first and second top menus for independently performing operations on a plurality of images subjected to dual view display, each of the first and second top menus including a plurality of operational items; and

a control unit that performs control to display the first and second top menus in different positions on a screen of the display unit, the first top menu corresponding to a first coordinate data area and the second top menu corresponding to a second coordinate data area, wherein the control unit determines, based on whether a coordinate data of a touch detected by the touch-position detecting unit corresponds to the first coordinate data area or the second coordinate data area, which of the first and second top menus has been touched, and wherein the control unit enables operations on the one of the first and second top menus that has been touched, and disables operations on the other one of the first and second top menus that has not been touched.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the menu generating unit and the display control unit to display a sub-menu corresponding to the one of the first and second top menus on the display unit that has been touched.

3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein, after operations on the other one of the first and second top menus are disabled, the control unit performs control so that, when the control unit has detected an operation on the other one of the first and second top menus on the basis of the coordinate data from the touch-position detecting unit, a message stating that the operation is invalid is output.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein, when operations on the other one of the first and second top menus are disabled, the control unit controls the display control unit to display a type of an image on which operations are enabled as a message on the other image on which operations are disabled.

5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein, when dual view display of an image from the same image source is provided on the display unit, the menu generating unit generates the first and second top menus having the same content for independently performing operations on the same image source subjected to dual view display, each of the first and second top menus including a plurality of operational items, and

the control unit performs control to display the first and second top menus in different positions on the screen of the display unit, the first top menu corresponding to the first coordinate data area and the second top menu corresponding to the second coordinate data area, wherein the control unit determines, based on whether the coordinate data of the touch detected by the touch-position detecting unit corresponds to the first coordinate data area or the second coordinate data area, which of the first and second top menus has been touched, and wherein the control unit controls the menu generating unit and the display control unit to display a sub-menu that depends on one of the first and second top menus that has been touched on the display unit.

6. A user interface of a display device comprising:

a display control unit that performs control to display first and second top menus for independently performing operations on a plurality of images subjected to dual view display on a display unit provided with a touch panel, each of the first and second top menus including a plurality of operational items; and

a control unit that performs control to determine, on the basis of coordinate data of a position of a touch detected by the touch panel, which of the first and second top menus has been touched, and to enable operations on one of the first and second top menus that has been touched, and to disable operations on the other one of the first and second top menus that has not been touched.

7. The user interface of the display device according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the display control unit to display a sub-menu corresponding to the one of the first and second top menus that was touched on the display unit provided with the touch panel.

8. The user interface of the display device according to claim 6, wherein, after operations on the other one of the first and second top menus are disabled, the control unit performs control so that, when the control unit has detected an operation on the other one of the first and second top menus on the basis of coordinate data of a position of a touch detected by the touch panel, a message stating that the operation is invalid is output.

9. The user interface of the display device according to claim 8, wherein the control unit controls the display control unit to display the message stating that the operation is invalid on an image on which operations are disabled.

10. The user interface of the display device according to claim 8, wherein the control unit performs control so that the message stating that the operation is invalid is output as a voice.

11. The user interface of the display device according to claim 6, wherein, when operations on the other one of the first and second top menus are disabled, the control unit controls the display control unit to display a type of an image on which operations are enabled as a message on the other image on which operations are disabled.

12. A user interface of a display device comprising:

a display control unit that performs control to provide dual view display of an image from the same image source and display first and second top menus having the same content for independently performing operations on the same image source subjected to dual view display in different positions on a screen of a display unit provided with a touch panel, the first top menu corresponding to a first coordinate data area of the display unit and the second top menu corresponding to a second coordinate data area of the display unit, each of the first and second top menus including a plurality of operational items; and

a control unit that determines, based on whether a touch detected by the touch panel corresponds to the first coordinate data area or the second coordinate data area, which of the first and second top menus has been touched, and controls the display control unit to display a sub-menu that depends on one of the first and second top menus that has been touched on the display unit provided with the touch panel.

13. A method for providing menus, the method comprising:

displaying, on a display unit provided with a touch panel, first and second top menus for independently performing operations on a plurality of images that are subjected to dual view display and displaying on the display unit provided with the touch panel, each of the first and second top menus including a plurality of operational items;

determining, on the basis of coordinate data of a position of a touch detected by the touch panel, which of the first and second top menus has been touched;

enabling operations on one of the first and second top menus that has been touched and disabling operations on the other one of the first and second top menus that has not been touched based on the determination of which of the first and second top menus has been touched; and

determining which operational item on the one of the first and second top menus has been touched and displaying a sub-menu corresponding to the touched operational item on the display unit provided with the touch panel based on the coordinate data of the position of the touch detected by the touch panel.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

after operations on the other one of the first and second top menus are disabled, outputting a message stating that an operation is invalid when the operation on the other one of the first and second top menus has been detected on the basis of coordinate data of a position of a touch detected by the touch panel.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

displaying a type of an image on which operations are enabled as a message on the other image on which operations are disabled when operations on the other one of the first and second tope menus are disabled.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein, during dual view display of an image from the same image source, the first and second top menus having the same content for independently performing operations on the same image source subjected to dual view display are displayed in different positions on a screen of the display unit provided with the touch panel, each of the first and second top menus including a plurality of operational items, the first top menu corresponding to a first coordinate data area of the display unit and the second top menu corresponding to a second coordinate data area of the display unit, and

wherein the act of determining which operational item on the one of the first and second top menus has been touched and displaying a sub-menu corresponding to the touched operational item on the display unit provided with the touch panel comprises displaying a sub-menu corresponding to the one of the first and second top menus on the display unit provided with the touch panel based on whether the coordinate data of the touch detected by the touch panel corresponds to the first coordinate data area or the second coordinate data area.